FCW Insider

Mark Everson, we hardly knew you

Mark Everson -- a name we all remember. Everson had served as the deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget before he left to head up the IRS (to be replaced by current DDM Clay Johnson)... Everson eventually ended up at the Red Cross -- until yesterday.

In case you missed it... and it was hard to miss it... Everson resigned from the Red Cross post yesterday amid allegations of a relationship with an employee.

The American Red Cross forced its president and chief executive, Mark W. Everson, to resign yesterday because he had an inappropriate relationship with a female subordinate, a spokeswoman for the disaster relief agency said.

Everson's ouster was a blow to the Red Cross, which has faced a rapid turnover in leadership and has struggled to restore a reputation damaged by its response to Hurricane Katrina. The agency's fifth chief in six years, Everson was at the helm of the federally chartered organization for six months.

Fifth chief executive in six years? Can that really be possible?

These stories are always difficult because people's lives are so complex, but... ugh!

On the one hand, we don't want corporations to be the morals police. Extramarital stuff happens. If every person committing adultery with someone they met on the job got fired, no doubt the nation's unemployment rate would jump a few percentage points. After all, the Vault's 2007 survey on workplace romance found that one third of respondents knew of a married co-worker who had had extracurricular relations with a fellow employee.

The GAO director of information technology issues is leaving government after 16 years. On his way out the door, Dave Powner details how far govtech has come in the past two decades and flags the most critical issues he sees facing federal IT leaders.